Christina Norman was selected as CEO of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network following her most recent stint as President of MTV. Taking the helm as of February 17, Christina will provide oversight for all business and creative functions of OWN. Christina will work closely with Robin Schwartz, President/OWN Television to ready the cable network launch in addition to Robert Tercek, President/Digital Media who manages Oprah.com and the upcoming OWN website. Both Robin and Robert will report to Christina. Based at company headquarters in Los Angeles, Christina will report directly to the OWN Board of Directors.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Despite the seemingly high momentum, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday did not pass the DTV date change bill which proposed to move the DTV transition date back by four months to June 12. The vote was 258 to 168 in favor of the bill, yet under House rules a two-thirds majority was needed for approval. On Monday, the Senate passed a compromise bill by unanimous consent which was advocated by Senator Jay Rockefeller who released this statement: “I am deeply disappointed that Republicans blocked the digital television transition (DTV) delay bill today in the House,” he said in a statement. “Instead of delaying the transition to ensure that the most vulnerable among us have the ability to prepare for the transition, they have made certain that far too many consumers across the country will wake up on February the 18th and find that their television sets have gone dark and access to news, information, and vital emergency alerts will be unavailable. It did not have to be this way – this situation was unnecessary and avoidable.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

CASTING CALL
Animal Planet and production partner PowderhouseProductions is looking for pet owners and their pets for a new series called Fetch Me A Beer (wt). The series watches pet trainer Zak George teaching animal owners how to transform ordinary pets to do stunt tricks. Production will begin next month and in-person casting calls are happening in South Florida now through mid-March and in the Boston area now through mid-June. Interested pet owners in South Florida can send an email to dogtricksFlorida@powderhouse.net and those in the Boston area can send an email to dogtricks@powderhouse.net. Other interested participants can submit videos and reply to the casting questionnaire by visiting AnimalPlanet.com/CastingCalls.
(Source: Cynopsis)